Posted on 06/21/2015 1:40:05 PM PDT by NYer
One of the most interesting ways to read the Bible is through the lens of typology. Typology is where a person or event in the Old Testament foreshadows a greater person or event in the New Testament. The word “typology” comes to us from St. Paul himself, in Romans 5:14, where he referred to Adam as a “type” of Christ. So let’s get started on this most interesting study.
Desert Wanderings
Remember the story about the Israelites coming up out of the water of the Red Sea and wandering in the desert for 40 years? They came upon bitter water in a pool at Marah, and Moses threw some wood in the pool to make the water drinkable. During the 40 year sojourn in the desert, they managed to worship a false idol, put God to the test, and demanded bread to eat. Now fast forward to the New Testament. Jesus Christ came up out of the water of the Jordan River to go into the desert for 40 days. During this time, he was also tempted to worship a false idol (Satan), but refused. Satan tempted Jesus to put God to the test as well, by throwing Himself off of a tower and allowing God to catch him. Jesus, unlike his ancestors in the desert, refused to do this. Likewise, satan tempted Jesus to command the stones to be turned into bread, but Jesus refused, instead saying that man does not live by bread alone, but on every Word that comes out of the mouth of God (FYI, bread and the Word of God are the two components of the liturgy of the Mass!). In short, Jesus passed the three tests that the Israelites failed under Moses. And what about the wood that Moses threw into the bitter water to make it drinkable? This is a type of the Cross making the sacrament of baptism holy!
And while the above parallels are insightful, the larger question is how do we in the 21st Century apply these lessons to our own lives? Well, we also wander around in a very dry desert of secularism and anti-Christian values. We are constantly being bombarded with suggestive advertising and near-porn on billboards, TV, and the movies. Satan would love it if we would give in and worship these pornographic images as false idols. We are also constantly putting God to the test through our sins and with the presumption that since God is love, we don’t have to stop sinning. Additionally, a lot of us are always stuffing our faces with too much food, instead of filling our hearts and minds with the Word of God.
Moses spoke in Deuteronomy 18:15 and said that God would raise up a “prophet like me” from among his brethren, and to heed Him when he comes along. That, of course is a reference to Jesus Christ. Let’s see how Moses and Jesus are alike:
Moses and Jesus
Other interesting types are as follows:
Joseph in the Old Testament; Joseph in the New Testament
Joseph in the Old Testament and Jesus
The Old Testament Ark of the Covenant and Mary
Elijah and John the Baptist
King David and Jesus
King Solomon and Jesus
Baptism
There are many others, like Jesus being killed with the tools of his own trade as a carpenter, namely, a hammer, wood, and nails; Genesis 3:15 saying that she will crush the head of the serpent, which was accomplished at Golgotha, the place of the skull; but hopefully this short article will give you an idea of just how rich the Bible is when it comes to truly understanding God’s Holy Word!
Catholic ping!
The best way to read Scripture is to read it.
Reading Scripture is a given but some folks can get bogged down in, for example, the Book of Numbers.
Since you advocate simply reading scripture, perhaps you can direct me to an explanation of the Trinity or the meaning of: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." in John 8:56.
First, the Bible doesn’t explicitly advocate for the Trinity, because Christ repeatedly says that He is subservient to the Father.
Second, reading the Bible is better than not reading the Bible and waiting for a special.technique, which was my point.
Of course this assumes, without any proof whatsoever, that the claims of the "new testament" are true and that its interpretations of the Hebrew Bible are authoritative.
"Typology" is also another convenient way to dispose of the surface meaning of the text (the various Biblical narratives) as didactic mythology.
What's not to love for a Catholic/Orthodox???
The Resurrection is the proof.
Of course this assumes, without any proof whatsoever, that the claims of the "new testament" are true and that its interpretations of the Hebrew Bible are authoritative.
The Resurrection is the proof.
No it isn't, for two reasons:
1)Belief in the resurrection is grounded in prior acceptance of either the authority of the Church (Catholics/Orthodox) or of the "new testament" narratives (Protestants).
2)But more importantly, all future claimants of Divine Revelation MUST be judged by the already existing Divine Revelation, the Torah of Sinai. Since the Revelation of Sinai quite frankly claims to be eternal and contains no expiration date or any mention of "do this until the messiah comes and then start doing something else instead" then chrstianity is not and cannot be from G-d, any more than the qur'an, the book of mormon, or any other species of "higher revelation."
You took the words out of my mouth.
Best let the Holy Spirit speak to you through it, rather than go in with preconceived notions of what it means.
Many (if not most) of those are quite a stretch.
The type-antitype relationship is based not in mere similarity, but in God’s design. In other words, if God says, “This is a type,” or “That is an antitype,” then we know.
The best method to read Scripture is with a desire to see only what God put there. There’s no need for us to force our clever ideas in. God put in enough.
We should point out the difference between an illustration and a type. A type is always identified as such in the New Testament. A Bible student finding correlations between an Old Testament story and the life of Christ is simply finding illustrations, not types. In other words, typology is determined by Scripture. The Holy Spirit inspired the use of types; illustrations and analogies are the result of man’s study. For example, many people see parallels between Joseph (Genesis 37-45) and Jesus. The humiliation and subsequent glorification of Joseph seem to correspond to the death and resurrection of Christ. However, the New Testament never uses Joseph as a model of Christ; therefore, Joseph’s story is properly called an illustration, but not a type, of Christ.
Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/typology-Biblical.html#ixzz3dk8fqk6d
Not at all. First we look at the New Testament to see if they are reliable documents by the same secular standards that we apply to any historical document. They are multiple testimonies of those who claim to have witnessed the Resurrection or, in Paul's case, have received a revelation from Jesus. This written testimony is backed up by the early preaching of the church. Then, and only then, we ask if the claims they are making are true. There can be only one of three answers: 1) the apostles knew that the claim of witnessing the Resurrection was false, i.e. they were lying; 2) the claim that they witness the Resurrection was false but they thought that it was true, i.e. they were crazy; or 3) the claim was true.
We can discount the first possibility because they gave their lives for their claim that they actually witness the Resurrection. Not one recanted in order to save their lives. No one, and not multiple claimants, would do this for a lie.
We can discount the second possibility because their writing show no trace that they were crazy. Indeed, these are the most inspiring writings that the world has ever known.
That leaves the third possibility, that their claim to be actual witnesses to the Resurrection is true, as being if fact the truth.
It is only by first looking at their claims by secular standards that we come to the conclusion that their accounts are true. If their account is true then Jesus is who he claims to be, the Son of God. It is only after accepting this that we regard the writings of the apostles as Sacred Scripture.
Since the Revelation of Sinai quite frankly claims to be eternal and contains no expiration date or any mention of "do this until the messiah comes and then start doing something else instead" then chrstianity is not and cannot be from G-d, any more than the qur'an, the book of mormon, or any other species of "higher revelation."
Except that the Old Testament does indeed say that there will be a new covenant:
See, days are coming—oracle of the LORD—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the LORD. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the LORD!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the LORD—for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)It is God who is supreme and eternal, not the Law that he gives.
Is anybody else shocked to learn that Catholics have more than one way to interpret the Bible? /sarc>
Typology is so interesting because everything that happens in the New Testament is in some way a type of what was foretold in the Old Testament.
One of my favorite things to study.
Read it prayerfully asking for the Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Scripture is rich beyond our imagining.
The trinity is present in the first verse of GEnesis and through the rest of the Bible. God is referred to as pleural throughout.
May I ask what faith you adhere to? I would assume Jewish, but I never like to assume.
Others have written what the Holy Spirit spoke to *them* through it, and reading what they have written may also prove profitable. (As one can see with the Scriptures themselves -- inspired, yet not only meant for the churches to whom they were individually written; and this was known even by the Biblical authors -- see for example Colossians 4:16.)
That law He gave at Sinai is not erasable. Although scripture says the enemy has been at work doing that very thing.
It is that lawless one,satan, who has tried to do away with the Commandments.
His throne is described as Saphire(exodus 24:10) - and the inference in reading that is that the two tablets were taken from His blue Saphire Throne.
And we know His Throne is forever. (Psalm 45:6, Hebrews 1:8)
It is why in Revelation 13, the satanic alliance will break and cause others to break His first 4 Commandments- those that deal with worship of the Father (they are in there if we look closely)
It is also why the harlot in Revelation isn’t adorned in Blue. She is missing one color from what priests were to wear and the color of the fringe- blue, which when they looked upon it,it would be a reminder of His Commandments.(numbers 15:38)
A ‘blue’ less lawless church will have little use for His Commandments.
Which is why Revelation says the patience of the saints is to keep the commandments of Yah and have faith in Yahshua/Joshua/Jesus.
Satan is at war with those Commandments and they are promised to be written on our hearts in the New Covenant.
there is a warning that Yahshua gives when He said ‘I never knew you- depart from me you who practice lawlessness..mathew 7;23
I don’t know if I fully grasped this all until I was shown His calendar that He has in His scripture and how the Messiah’s major life events occurred on appointed days He taught Israel.
And how even in death, He rested on the Sabbath day(15th day of His 1st month), after finishing His Work on the 6th and final work day. And rising up the 1st day of the week as First Fruits.
Not only our Savior but our example of obedience to His Law
There is so much truly wonderful music and art that has sprung from the Christian consciousness which I believe - however agnostic I may be to its ultimate truthfulness - can and should inspire us all.
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